After a last-ditch 10-minute apology from Ali Abulaban, the former TikTok star became angry at the applauding courtroom Friday when he was sentenced to 50 years in prison for the murders of his wife and her friend.
Abulaban, 32, was found guilty in May on two counts of first-degree murder for the 2021 deaths of Ana Abulaban, 28, and her friend Rayburn Barron, 29. He was initially scheduled to be sentenced in June, but the judge granted his legal team's request for a delay.
"The bottom line here is he will die in prison," Judge Jeffrey Fraser said Friday, causing a loud applause to erupt through the courtroom. "He will never be a free man. He will take His last breath there."
When the courtroom burst into applause and cheers, Abulaban whipped his head around, mockingly joining in on the applause, then turned back around and seemingly muttered "f--k you."
'I Wish This Never Happened'
Ali Abulaban took 10 minutes to read a handwritten statement to the court on Friday moments before his sentencing. He spoke directly to his deceased wife and also her family in the courtroom.
"If I could undo all of this, I wouldn't hesitate," he said. ".... I wish this never happened."
"I would get on my knees and beg Ana for forgiveness – forgiveness for becoming distracted, for letting my anxiety and my insecurities affect my thoughts and my behavior towards Ana and towards her strength forgiveness for using cocaine as a remedy and becoming addicted because of for neglecting my responsibilities to you, Ana, as your husband, and my responsibilities as a father, and for allowing the drugs to turn me into a pathetic, empty shell of the man that she fell in love because of those factors, I lost myself."
He only got emotional when speaking to the former couple's daughter, Amira.
"When you're old enough to see this, please don't blame yourself," he said through tears. "None of this is your fault. Your mother loves you so much, and I love you so much. You're the strongest girl I've ever known, and I'm so proud to be your father."
To Barron's family, Abulaban added, "After seeing just how consistently you all showed up to this trial in support of him, I have no doubt in my mind that Ray was a good person. The world has truly suffered a great loss, and for that, I'm terribly sorry."
Abulaban wrapped up his lengthy speech by saying being sent to prison without the hope that he ever gets out "honestly feels like I'm being sent to Hell."
"... Even still, it is my goal to serve my time with the utmost outstanding conduct and to participate in every rehabilitative program while being a positive role model to other prisoners, and I will do all this to the best of my ability, with the goal of one day safely transitioning back into society," he said.
Outbursts In Courtroom
The courtroom experienced several emotional outbursts, starting just minutes into the hearing when the defense motioned for a new trial.
At least one person audibly shouted an expletive prompting Judge Jeffrey Fraser to pause the proceedings and warn the next person who interpreted would be escorted out of the room. He addressed Abulaban directly. The murderer responded, "I didn't say anything."
Ana's sister, overwhelmed with emotion, shouted at Abulaban during her victim impact statement. She confronted him directly, saying, "If I had known what my sister had gone through, I would have flown out to see her again and done everything I could to get her away from you."
The Context
Ali Abulaban fatally shot his wife and her friend in the face in the high-rise apartment Ali and Ana shared. The couple was separated at the time.
The chilling story is the subject of the Peaco*ck documentary "TikTok Star Murders." Prior to the killings, Ali Abulaban allegedly vandalized the residence and installed a listening app on their daughter's iPad.
Ali Abulaban heard his wife and Barron interacting through the app and he allegedly became angry. He then went back to the apartment and shot them.
Footage from a neighbor's security camera was played in court. It showed Ali Abulaban entering the apartment, then multiple gunshots are heard.
Ali Abulaban rose to fame on TikTok under the username "JinnKid." He made comedy sketches and often impersonated famous characters such as Tony Montana from the movie Scarface.
"Jinnkid was an escape from Ali Abulaban being an actual human," Ali's cousin Louie said in the documentary. "He wanted to be this different entity that was super famous."
Ana Abulaban often filmed the videos and occasionally made appearances on camera. Ali and Ana had moved from Virginia to San Diego so he could pursue opportunities in Los Angeles and she could be closer to her friends from her time in Japan.
The couple met in Okinawa while Ali was stationed there for the military. Ana Abulaban was from the Philippines.
Friends and family featured in the documentary claimed the relationship became strained after the move to San Diego. They said Ali Abulaban began abusing cocaine, the couple fought often and Ali threatened to kill himself on at least one occasion.
Police responded to the apartment for a domestic violence call from Ana Abulaban prior to the murders. Cameron Jackson, one of the responding officers, said in the documentary that Ali was not arrested at the time because Ana had no visible injuries.
Jackson said Ali Abulaban recorded his conversation with police, which was "highly unusual."
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